Education Spending Doesn't Solve Education Problems

Education spending varies dramatically from state to state, and there are distinct regional differences. The desert West, the old cotton South and the northern Plains states spend the least per-student on elementary and secondary education.

But spending by itself doesn't necessarily create great results. Though Utah spends the least per-pupil on education annually, it isn't near the bottom in graduation rates. The District of Columbia spends almost twice the national average per pupil but graduates just 55 percent of its students.